(no subject)
I’m just getting around to responding to some of the readings, hopefully the tardiness of the posts isn’t too irritating to anyone.
Silberstein’s book is somewhat interesting, it basically reminds us all that television programming is based solely on entertainment value and that their objective isn’t really to provide any kind of quality content, but to appeal to the lowest common denominator so that they can keep people enthralled for seven minutes at a time until they air the commercials that support everything on TV. Real ‘news’ would be over most people’s heads, wouldn’t get good ratings, and would threaten the networks with the loss of valuable advertising money.
-The image of the newscaster waiting on the street corner with a street corner with a line of people behind him was eerily humorous for me - as people, even recently after a catastrophic event seemed to be jumping at the opportunity to get on TV. I don’t think they were just being good citizens and looking to share their knowledge, as they were probably well aware that all of the points had been covered - the situation is a glimpse into how important TV has become for this society.
-We already know that newscasters over-dramatize, and draw “heavily on entertainment” as Silverstein reiterates for anyone whose been asleep for the past forty years.
-It shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone that the news wants good storytellers and not people who can’t hold a narrative. It’s entertainment, just as Law and Order wants their stories well crafted, so do news programs. Mr. Gonzalez will get the channel changed in a second.
-We already know that graphics on news channels are quite grandiose, but Silverstein reminds us of this also.
- Silverstein talks about “manufactured narratives”, in which the news uses regular people’s testimonies to construct its’ narrative. It seems to me that this may be one of the least biased ways to frame news coverage. Assuming that there is no racial, sexual, ethnic, religious, etc discrimination in who gets to talk, this may be a good way to get multiple viewpoints across. A better idea would be to get rid of the guy with the microphone altogether, and just set up a camera, and let people talk into it.
-Is it a coincidence that, when in Eglish 281 with Krisda, we were forced to buy Silverstein’s book, and only spent about a week on it? Could Krisda not have photocopied the important parts? Was he doing his colleague a favor by making thirty people purchase her book - and what kind of profit did she make off of us?
Overall, I don’t think the book makes many substantial or original claims, and just kind of rehashes ideas that are present in Communications 101.
Silberstein’s book is somewhat interesting, it basically reminds us all that television programming is based solely on entertainment value and that their objective isn’t really to provide any kind of quality content, but to appeal to the lowest common denominator so that they can keep people enthralled for seven minutes at a time until they air the commercials that support everything on TV. Real ‘news’ would be over most people’s heads, wouldn’t get good ratings, and would threaten the networks with the loss of valuable advertising money.
-The image of the newscaster waiting on the street corner with a street corner with a line of people behind him was eerily humorous for me - as people, even recently after a catastrophic event seemed to be jumping at the opportunity to get on TV. I don’t think they were just being good citizens and looking to share their knowledge, as they were probably well aware that all of the points had been covered - the situation is a glimpse into how important TV has become for this society.
-We already know that newscasters over-dramatize, and draw “heavily on entertainment” as Silverstein reiterates for anyone whose been asleep for the past forty years.
-It shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone that the news wants good storytellers and not people who can’t hold a narrative. It’s entertainment, just as Law and Order wants their stories well crafted, so do news programs. Mr. Gonzalez will get the channel changed in a second.
-We already know that graphics on news channels are quite grandiose, but Silverstein reminds us of this also.
- Silverstein talks about “manufactured narratives”, in which the news uses regular people’s testimonies to construct its’ narrative. It seems to me that this may be one of the least biased ways to frame news coverage. Assuming that there is no racial, sexual, ethnic, religious, etc discrimination in who gets to talk, this may be a good way to get multiple viewpoints across. A better idea would be to get rid of the guy with the microphone altogether, and just set up a camera, and let people talk into it.
-Is it a coincidence that, when in Eglish 281 with Krisda, we were forced to buy Silverstein’s book, and only spent about a week on it? Could Krisda not have photocopied the important parts? Was he doing his colleague a favor by making thirty people purchase her book - and what kind of profit did she make off of us?
Overall, I don’t think the book makes many substantial or original claims, and just kind of rehashes ideas that are present in Communications 101.